Shirov wins Paul Keres Memorial

1/25/2005 – The International Chess Tournament in Tallinn, Estonia, has a tradition that goes back to 1969. In the past it was won by Leonid Stein, Mikhail Tal (five times!) and Paul Keres, who has given it the present-day name. This year Alexei Shirov triumphed (over Anatoly Karpov and Boris Gelfand) and won it for the second year in succession. Illustrated report.

Our own Paul Petrovich

The
traditional International Chess Tournament in Tallinn has its roots in
the first one, staged in the distant past of 1969. Among winners of the
tournament you’ll find Leonid Stein (1969), the eighth World Champion
Mikhail Tal (1971, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983), and Paul
Keres in propria persona (1971 and 1975).

In 1975 the great
Estonian grandmaster passed away at the age of 59. For a remarkably long
period of thirty years from 1936 to 1965 Paul Keres was among the top
ten players in the world. Since 1977 the traditional tournament in Tallinn
has been named after him. It is the Paul Keres Memorial.

From 1991 the tournament
was changed to a rapid chess event and held on a yearly basis, and from
1999 on it acquired a women’s section. Last year the winners were Alexei
Shirov and Maia Chiburdanidze.

Left: the monument
to Paul Keres in Tallinn. Photo: ESS Kalev

The tournament is
timed to coincide with the birthday of Paul Keres – January 7. It is
astonishing that every year, despite the quite restricted prize fund,
a lot of very famous grandmasters get together in Tallinn to remember
Paul Keres. This year Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, Pia Cramling, Anatoly Karpov,
Alexei Shirov and Boris Gelfand were personally invited to the main finals.

Left: Iivo Nei
and Anatoly Karpov speak about Paul Keres’ role in the history of world’s
chess in his Birthday, January 7th, 2005. Photo: ESS Kalev

At the opening ceremony the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov said: “Paul
Petrovich is embedded forever in my recollection as very calm, intelligent,
and polite man. But on the chessboard he was really reborn, surprising his
opponents with sharp lunges and hard-nosed battles.”

A word from the twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov at the opening ceremony.
Next to him is Israeli GM Boris Gelfand

Estonian writer Jüri Tuulik thanked Anatoly Karpov for his visit and informed
the public that Anatoly Karpov is the tenth World Champion who has visited
Estonia. Jüri Tuulik clarified that Alexander Alekhine, Robert Fischer, Garry
Kasparov, and Vladimir Kramnik have never been to Estonia. In addition Tuulik
provided us with an interesting bit of information: in 1974, before the final
candidate match Karpov-Korchnoi, Paul Keres has offered the latter his help.
But Korchnoi has refused and thus lost a chance to win the chess crown.

Alexei
Shirov said in turn that the main book which he had used to learn chess
was “100 Games” by Paul Keres. “In comparison with my native town Riga,
where tournaments in memory of Mikhail Tal are not widespread, Memorials
of Paul Keres are world famous”.

Boris Gelfand emphasized
that those who love chess to any extent know and esteem the contribution
of Paul Keres to the game and its progress. “That’s why many chess players
go to Tallinn to play in this tournament”, GM Gelfand said.

Left: Alexei
Shirov.
Photo: Molodezh Estonii

Bicycle
racer Erika Salumäe, two times Olympic Champion in Seoul (in the USSR
team) and in Barcelona (in the Estonian team)

The tournament was organized by the All Estonian Sports Society Kalev, of
which Paul Keres was a member in his time. Okay, famous players met there to
remembering Paul the Great, and to deliver solemn speeches. But how about the
quality of the games?

Legendary Estonian master Hillar Kärner (right) had a good chance to qualify
for the main final

The unique personality: International Arbiter Lembit Vahesaar has been
judging all the traditional Tallinn tournaments since their beginning in 1969!
In the area of arbiting Vahesaar was even stronger than Paul Keres, who got
the IA title five years after him, in 1974. Photo: Molodezh Estonii

Black is winning and should simply play 35...h6. But Gelfand moves the wrong
pawn and almost gives away half a point: 35...g6? 38.hxg6 hxg6
and White resigned, because after moving his rook out of the attack he is simply
two pawns down. What Rytshagov (and Gelfand) overlooked was that after the
simple 39.gxf6 Black cannot take the rook due to an annoying mate on the h-file
(39...gxf5?? 40.Rh1+ Bh2 41.Rxh2#). 0-1. [Click
here to replay]

15-year-old Valentina Golubenko, the youngest final participant in the
tournament history. Photo: Molodezh Estonii

Valentina said after the tournament she was so nervous that she even forgot
how the chessmen moved. The first time on stage, back to back with such magnificent
players as Karpov, Shirov, Gelfand, Kovalevskaya and Cramling... She played
well in the preliminary tournament and took second place, ahead of WGM Dagne
Ciuksyte and her sister Zivile Sarakauskiene. In any case in the last round
of the women’s final she held a draw against Dagne Ciuksyte, not allowing her
to share first place with Ekaterina Kovalevskaya. But in the first round she
joined the good company of Karpov and Gelfand, blundering against WIM Tatjana
Fomina.

Final standings

Women's section

The author

Dr Valery Golubenko was born in 1961. In 1978 proposed his
own definition of the unit of imaginary numbers in higher mathematics, and
in 1991 he completed a PhD in mathematics and database search. Valery has worked
with the Chess Informant since 1985. he was the Champion of Estonia in rapid
chess from 1993 – 1995. and three times winner on board one in Estonian Team
Championships, in 1986 (ahead of Jaan Ehlvest and Lembit Oll), 2003, and 2004.
He is married and has two daughters, aged 14 and 2.

See also

12/18/2004 – An international Internet chess tournament is taking place, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of the 9th world champion, Tigran Petrosian. Four teams, from Russia, China, France and Armenia, are participating, with none of the players leaving their places of residence. More...Discuss

1/5/2005 – Alexei Shirov outplayed Bartlomiej Macieja in a Classical Sicilian to clinch first place on tiebreak in the Smartfish Chess Masters in Drammen, Norway. Peter Heine Nielsen, who had been leading most of the way, conceded a quick draw to share points and prize with Shirov. Here's an extraordinary illustrated report.Discuss

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